Trouser hanger



April 24, 1962 H. G. OLSON 3,031,113

TROUSER HANGER Filed March 13. 1959 INVENTOR.

/A/raw G. OLSO/V Patented Apr. 24, 1962 3,031,113 TROUSER HANGER Harold G. Olson, 939 S. Kensington, La Grange, Ill.

' Filed Mar. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 799,281

1 Claim. (Cl. 223-95) This invention relates to a trouser holder both for use in conjunction with conventional wire clothes hangers or with a separate hook for suspending trousers by the bottoms without folding. It is particularly adaptable to be made from materials such as cardboard and thus is relatively inexpensive and can be discarded after a single use.

The prior art shows many trouser hangers of various constructions have been developed over the years. Some, such as those shown in the United States Patents Nos. 2,324,093, 2,456,014 and 2,750,087 show trouser hangers which may be made from materials sufiiciently inexpensive to be discarded after one use and thus be adaptable to be used by cleaning establishments and the like.

The first and last of the aforementioned patents show devices which can be used in conjunction with wire coat hangers and can be made from materials such as cardboard but. both require that the trouser leg be folded over the wire coat hanger. This factor is a distinct disadvantage in such applications because, after pressing, trousers necessarily retain a substantial amount of moisture which results in setting in of a transverse crease when the trousers are folded over a coat hanger which remains when the trousers are worn.

The second of the above patents shows a device made of wire which hangs the trousers vertically without folding but its use is limited to trousers with cuffs. The same limitation is applicable to devices such as shown in United States Patent No. 2,300,629 which, in addition, cannot be used with commercially available wire coat hangers.

Other trouser hangers, such as those shown in United States Patents Nos. 2,017,761 and 2,552,842 are elaborate and expensive structures which are not capable of use in conjunction with conventional wire coat hangers.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel device for hanging trousers by the bottom portion without folding or creating a transverse crease, even while the trousers remain damp from the pressing operation.

Another object is to provide a means for securely hanging trousers which is simple, has no moving parts and can be made inexpensively from materials such as cardboard, which, if desired, can be discarded after a single use.

An additional object is to provide a separate trouser hanger which can be used in conjunction with coventional wire coat hangers.

A further object is to provide a trouser hanger which will function equally well on trousers with or without cuffs.

A still further object, in addition to the foregoing, is to have a trouser hanger which will prevent the possibility of transverse sliding and bunching of trousers which occurs when trousers are folded over the crosspiece of a coat hanger whether such cross-bar is or is not covered by a cardboard or other protective piece.

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the unfolded hanger.

FIGURE 2 is the end view of the hanger.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the hanger which is the subject matter of this invention as it is folded over a conventional wire coat hanger into which a pair of trousers are affixed as in normal use.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged, side elevational view of a portion of the hanger showing the appearance of the teeth.

FIGURES 5 and 6 show an alternative form of the invention showing'a hook means for hanging the trouser hanger.

Referring to the annexed drawings, FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the unfolded hanger which is the subject of my invention and which is formed from a single blank of sheet material designated as P. Said blank P has two opposite substantially parallel edges 18 and 19, and its opposite ends are defined by two pair of gradually converging serrated edges 11, each pair of which merge in an apex 11a at each end of the blank P. The converging serrated edges 11 are at an angle 12 of less than ninety degrees to the longitudinal fold 13 which extends from one apex to the other.

The fold line 13 is formed by producing a weakened line of indentations extending from one apex 11a to the other apex 110. When the panel or blank P is folded along said fold line 13, two connected panels 14 and 15 are thereby formed.

The serrations 10 on the panels 14 and 15, which are in separate planes, are similar in appearance to saw teeth, each of which have an apex 16 and a recess 17 between the sides of the teeth. The recess 17 is defined by edges at approximately ninety degrees in order to provide a gripping means for the trousers. It has been determined that the device will function properly when said angle of the edges of the recesses is from eighty to one hundred and twenty degrees.

Each toothed edge 11, inclined at angle 12, is limited as a practical matter in the preferred form to an angle in the range of seventy to eighty-seven degrees relative to the longitudinal fold line 13.

The upper edge 18 and the lower edge 19 (referring to FIG. 1) preferably has a length of about eight and one-half inches between the points where said edges 18 and 119 meet the serrated edges 11. It is to be understood that opposite edges 18 and 19 need not be straight as they do not in themselves perform any separate holding function.

To use this invention the flat blank P shown in FIG. 1 is folded along fold line 13. The cross-bar 21 of a conventional wire clothes hanger 20 is positioned inside fold 13 and between panels 14 and 15, and the trouser legs 22 and 23 are placed over the panels 14 and 15 respectively, and urged and manually pushed toward the fold 13 until slight flexing of the surfaces 14 and 15 occurs, and whereupon the operator achieves the desired tension between the serrated edges 11 on opposite sides of the device, and the inside faces of the front and back of the trouser bottoms. The trousers are then ready to hang up by suspending the wire hanger 20 on a fixed support.

In FIGS. 5 and 6 I have illustrated a modified form of my invention wherein a novel hanger is releasably connected to the folded edge portion of my pants suspending device, and on which it is adapted to be quickly connected.

Numerals 25 and 26 designate two separate relatively stiff wires or optionally one doubled back wire which at one end forming a doubled back portion are bent to form a hook 30, as illustrated, and whose intermediate portions are twisted together to form a spirally twisted connection 27. The extreme end portions of the wires 25 and 26 are extended beyond the connection 27 and slightly separated to form a claw, and the end 28 of the wire 26 is tapered to a point and bent at a sharp angle to extend transversely or substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the twisted shank thereof.

The bent end 20 of the other wire 25 is pointed and bent angularly to form a hook, substantially at right angles to the upwardly extending portion of the wire and extending in an inward and opposite direction to the direction of bent point or hook 28.

Said hooks or points 28 and 29 are slightly spaced apart and substantially parallel to permit the points to be positioned over and on opposite sides of the folded edge portion of the fibreboard blank previously described, and upon such positioning the entire hanger is turned or twisted about ninety degrees to cause the points 28 and 29 to perforate and penetrate, and extend through the middle part of the fibreboard of the folded edge 13 of the panel or blank illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Such perforation and insertion of said points or hooks connects the metal hanger to the folded doubled back edge 13 of the panel to thereby provide for quick and easy hanging on a stationary object.

My novel device can be quickly and easily assembled and disassembled, and the serrated trouser engaging hanger may be disposed of and replaced whenever desired with a resultant minimum cost. A further advantage is in the ability to package large quantities of said disposable devices in relatively small packages, thus making for convenient transport and storage.

The relatively low cost of my device and the distinct advantages which have been recited are a definite advantage to dry cleaning businesses which would be the principal users of my invention.

While the foregoing specification sets forth the invention in specific terms, it is to be understood that numerous changes in the shape, size and materials may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed hereinafter and it is contemplated that various changes may be made in the embodiment of the invention herein specifically described without departing from or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention or any feature thereof, and nothing herein shall be construed as limitations upon the invention, its concept or structural embodiment as to the whole or any part thereof except as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

A trouser holder suspendable from a garment hanger comprising: a longitudinally folded relatively stiff sheet mountable on the hanger and having two integral panels extending away from the fold; the opposite sides of said panels having serrated edges converging inwardly from the fold in said sheet; said panels adapted for insertion through the leg openings of trousers to grip the trousers from within, said sheet being fabricated from paperboard having a thickness of about 4 to of an inch; with the serrated edges extending from the fold at an angle of approximately seventy-five to eighty-seven degrees to the fold, said serrated edges having four to seven serrated teeth per inch and an angle of approximately eighty to one hundred and twenty degrees between the edges of said teeth.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,251,894 Mizer Aug. 5, 1941 2,712,891 Mantell July 12, 1955 2,766,917 Jang Oct. 16, 1956 2,769,586 Lee Nov. 6, 1956 

